Reflective Field Experience #3- Latoria Felder

Latoria Felder
March 11, 2009
ELM 370
Reflective Field Experience #3

I am at Aversboro Elementary school in Mr. Berwanger’s fifth grade classroom. At the start of the day when you first arrive at the school there are students as safety patrol officers standing in front of the school, there is also an adult patrolling with the students. Whenever you walk by the teacher or students they are always willing and ready to say “good morning” or “hello”. The student safety patrol officers are helping other students out of their parent’s car and greeting them with a smile. When you continue on into the school there are many different spots in the hallway where teachers stand and greet students and staff members. The very first day at Aversboro I was a little uneasy because I had never been to that school before and I was going to be in a fifth grade classroom; however, after coming into the school and feeling the welcoming spirits the teachers gave off I no longer felt uneasy. The teachers that greet you are very nice and lively even though it is 8 am in the morning. There has never been a day that I have walked into Aversboro and not been greeted by at least three teachers. This sense of warmth is extremely important when it comes to students because you never know what type of night that student has had. When the teachers are all waiting for the students to enter the school building and are ready to greet them that makes the students feel welcomed and like they belong. Many times I hear the greeters (teachers) call students by their name even if they are not their student, so this definitely creates a community within the school.

Once you arrive at Mr. Berwangers classroom many times he is standing somewhere close to the door greeting the students by name with a friendly “good morning” or “hey (student name)”. The classroom is organized so the students know what to do when they get to class in the morning. So there is no confusion. Having an organized classroom is very important because this also creates a sense of community, when students know what to do and where things are in the class they feel “at home”. My SBTE is a male teacher, so he seems to have a very different relationship with the students. Many of the students in the fifth grade like him because he is very honest and down to earth. Some of the students from the other classes come to him every morning and give him a hug and say “Hey Mr. B”. The students in his class seem to really care about what he thinks and how he feels about things. Mr. Berwanger allows the students to communicate their thoughts with him, and he expresses to his students that he cares about them. So he expects nothing less than the best from them. Mr. Berwanger welcomes his students into the classroom, so I believe this rubs off on his students. Whenever my partner and I are not in the classroom for a long period of time (a week) and we come back some of the students are so excited to see us, they say in a really excited voice “Hey Miss. Felder and Miss. Lewis”. Whenever we leave if the students are not too engaged in their class work they will ask us “are you leaving”, and this really puts a smile on my face to know that the students really care about me. The students and teachers really welcome you and make you feel like you belong there.

Another thing that I see happen in the school that creates a sense of community for the students is the principal comes into the classroom just about every day and walks around the classroom, just to observe the students or show his presence. The principal normally comes in during instructional time, so he never says anything to the students unless they are off task. However, one thing that I do not like about the principal is that he has never spoken to my partner or me. I still do not know the principal’s name and I see him just about everyday I am in the school. He really does not seem to be a very friendly person; however, I have not heard any bad things about him.

I think that the way my partnership school and SBTE teacher form a sense of community is really good. They make teachers and students feel welcomed from the time you enter the school until the time you leave the school. I think when I have my own classroom I will incorporate some of the things my SBTE does in his classroom to create a community in my classroom. My SBTE allows students to interact with each other and he treats them as if they are young adults. He does not talk down to the students or demean their intelligence. I believe Aversboro School is a warm and welcoming place to work being an outsider looking in.